The soldiers must have thought it was the world's biggest waste of time the guard a tomb. They had seen the lack of valor in the disciples. Who was kidding who? Jesus' followers where cowering in a locked room. Yet their orders where to keep zelots out of the tomb. Little did they know that it was the one inside the tomb that would pose a problem.
Behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door,and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.
Matthew 20:2-4
It was before the crack of dawn and they where on the way to perform the last offices of love for a departed friend, but they where in for the biggest surprise in all of history...
"Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, He is risen, just as he said come, see the place were the Lord lay."
John 28:5-7
You know, I bet that Satan thought he had really scored a point by *ahem* "messing up" God's plan. But God is ironic, don't you think? The crucifixion was God's plan, yet the Parisees (and think it's biblical to say Satan himself) thought it was their plan. He not only beat the Devil at what he thought was his own game by bringing Jesus back to life, he used the evil shouts of "Crucify Him!" as the way to do it. He thus won not only the battle Satan waged against Christ in the form of man, he won the war with death, hell and the grave started in the garden. This is truly the ultimate example of God working all things for the good of those who love God who are the called according to his purpose.
How amazing our God is! This is a powerful statement on the person of Christ which you really should listen to.
You won't be sorry you did.
http://www.4-14.org.uk/index.php/archives/54-thats-my-king-s-m-lockeridge
P.S. If you read this earlier today and it was slightly different, that's because I was trying to get the post up before I had to leave for church this morning, so I went ahead and posted it not quite done, and have now finished it.
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1 comments:
I like the observation. Satan had long to comtemplate the scriptures. He even tried to use Peter to tell Jesus that He need not go to the cross. But Jesus despising that shame, for the joy set before Him, rebuked Peter. He told him get thee behind me Satan. Thou art an offense unto me. To think that just a few verses before Peter is the one who made the proclaimation "Thou art the Christ!"
Satan, once all his attempts failed, had only one route to take. That was to kill Jesus and get Him off the earth. But Jesus was not afraid of he that could destroy the body.
God had the greatest trick of all time up his sleeve. Jesus the perfect man which knew no sin was going to take on Himself the sins of the entire world. If He was to die without doing this, He would have surely just returned to heaven. But having bore our sins, He was given entrance into the pit.
Satan and his demons astonished to find the Most High, holy, perfect, sinless, Yahweh Himself in the domain of the utterly sinful and depraved. With the power of the only omnipotent God, Christ put His foot to Satan's neck. Ripping the keys of death, hell, and the grave from Him. Openly triumphing over all principalities and powers.
With the keys in hand, He claimed His right as a truly perfect man to life eternal. By God's very law, His word, it says that "The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The soul that keeps all His statues shall surely live." And so by the word of God, the laws He had enacted long before Christ after three days was not allowed to see corruption. Death had no just cause to hold a sinless man. And God in three days was able to satisfy His justice by pouring out His infinite wrath on our sins upon the infinite Being which is Christ our Lord.
Now God has made peace with us for us. Now we wait for that time when God will curse Satan under our feet. Indeed, he can feel it coming everytime we overcome by the blood of the Lamb.
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